Sleep Hygiene—Do’s and Don’ts
There are four stages of sleep: 1, 2, 3, and REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement).
It is recommended that adults receive between 6-8 hours of sleep a night. Have you ever wondered why that is? It is to allow your body to cycle through the stages of sleep so that you can get as much of stage 3-4, deep sleep and REM, as you can. As depicted in the above image, we spend most of the night cycling through stages 1-2. Stage one is where we feel drowsy, and start getting to sleep, however, very easy to wake. Stage two occurs for longer periods than stage one and we spend about 40-60% of total sleep time in this stage. Stage 3 is our deep, restorative sleep. The stage in which we receive the best sleep only makes up about 5-15% of total sleep time. Stage 4 or REM sleep is our dream stage. In this stage we only receive about 90-120 minutes in total and that time is split up, with people going into that stage 3-5 times. Once you are out of REM you restart the cycle. The longest REM period is right before we wake up in the morning which explains the vivid dream you have and can remember parts of it when you wake up. Essentially, on average, we go through 4-5 sleep cycles a night (Stages of Sleep and Sleep Cycles, 2019). Sleep is incredibly important. It allows our bodies to rest and rejuvenate itself. Sleep is also very vital when it comes to mental health as it is directly related to mood and productivity. When we receive a full night’s rest, then we can function properly and conduct our daily shenanigans and tomfoolery.
Do’s and Don’ts – How to Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
DON’T: Try to lay in bed without winding down
Just flopping into bed will not get you to sleep, not unless you are dead tired. You will, in turn, lay there for minutes and possibly hours before even getting drowsy because you have not given your body and mind time to relax and wind down.
DO: Establish a bedtime routine
Bedtime should be around 10:30 PM-11:00 PM. Start winding down an hour or so before that. Do some calming activities. Take a hot shower, drink some tea, watch a show or read a book that isn’t too action-packed, do some yoga, meditate, etc. Wake Up around 6:30 AM-7:00 AM and get your day started. The longer you lay in bed, the less need for sleep you’ll have at night.
DON’T: Exercise right before bed
This will cause you and your body to still be awake. You know how you feel pumped after a bomb work out? That feeling will continue when you try to lay down for the night.
DO: Exercise a couple of hours before bed, about 2-3 hours prior.
When you exercise a couple of hours before bed, you allow your body to experience that pumped feeling, while giving it time to calm down. Working out a couple of hours prior allows time for you to start the bedtime routine when you get home.
DON’T: Eat heavy greasy foods right before bed.
We all know the “itis” can get you to sleep quickly. However, it will not keep you asleep and having such a heavy meal on your stomach can lead to heartburn and indigestion.
DO: Eat a light healthy dinner.
It is recommended that we do not eat past 7 PM. Let’s be honest, that is not super realistic for some of us. Try not to eat past 8:30 PM. Dinner should be your lightest meal of the day because shortly after you eat, you are going to sleep. Find some healthier recipes and meal prep.
DON’T: Lay in bed awake for more than 15 mins.
When you lay in the bed and aren’t actually sleeping, you are continuing to wake your body and mind up. Get out of bed and do some deep breathing, a bit of reading, or listen to a podcast or audio book. Don’t pick up your phone and start scrolling on social media or playing games. The light from your phone will start to wake you up and you will become more focused on whatever drama you see on SM or too involved in the game, at that point, sleep is out of the window.
DO: Do some deep breathing/follow the bursts of light from a breathing app to further relax.
Deep breathing can help slow everything down. When you use specific apps, like the, “Breathe” app on apple watch, it can help you get to sleep faster.
DON’T: Rely on sleep aids to get you asleep.
Using things such as, "Zzz-Quil" will only help for so long. One can build a tolerance to products like these, thus, increasing usage and now you are abusing the medication. When we abuse sleep aids, it causes us to significantly oversleep. When we finally wake, we feel groggy, not rested, and cranky.
DO: If getting to sleep is really a struggle where you feel you need stronger intervention, try natural supplements such as Melatonin or speak to your prescriber about possible medications.
Some people may be suffering from insomnia, and, in that case, medication intervention is needed. Medications such as Ambien or Trazodone could be very useful in those situations. Otherwise, try melatonin or sleepy time tea to help you get to sleep. These products are non-addictive, natural supplements and can be discontinued with ease.
DON’T: Drink caffeine throughout the day
I’ll just list the reasons why this is a bad idea:
1. Gain a higher tolerance to caffeine.
2. You can become addicted
3. Caffeine withdrawals.
4. It loses its effectiveness which then defeats the purpose.
5. Can cause you to stay up through the night thus, disrupting your circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle).
6. Increased heart rate (for reference, too much caffeine can do the same thing as stimulants—blow your heart out, grim, I know).
Shall I continue?
If you feel too drowsy and do need that pick me up, only drink coffee first thing in the morning. That’s the only time you need a boost. Otherwise, try vitamin B12 gummies/jelly beans. These can be purchased at your local Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and wherever else vitamins are sold.
DON’T: Take naps in your bed or naps that are longer than 30 mins.
When you sleep over 30 mins you run the risk of falling into a deep sleep, which gives you energy. Sleeping over 30 mins tricks your brain at night into thinking that you do not need to sleep. Taking naps in the bed or a too comfortable position will have you in a deep sleep as well, which will lead to oversleeping and less need for sleep at night. Some people cannot take naps during the day at all because any sort of sleep disrupts nighttime sleep. Know your body and what works for you.
DON’T: Lay in bed unless it is bedtime.
I learned this step the hard way in college. Lying in bed all the time, whether it be for reading, watching TV, playing games on your phone, whatever the case may be, you are telling your body that it is “OK” to be awake in bed. The bed is meant for sleeping at bedtime, not for other *random* activities.
DO: Sleep in a cool, dark room, with some sort of dim light and some sort of sound.
Having a fan run on the low setting can keep you cool and comfortable while sleeping. No one wants to wake up with sweaty body parts. Also, you may turn your TV on, dim the brightness, turn down the volume down, but loud enough where you can hear it a bit, and set a timer on the TV for it to turn off. Put the TV on something that you have no interest in watching so that you do not roll over and start watching TV. For me, I put the TV on cartoons such as “My Little Pony,” “Garfield,” or one of these new-age cartoons that the kids are watching these days. I’m out like a light in 5 mins.
DON’T: Drink alcohol to get you to sleep
Yes, alcohol can get you to sleep, as it is a depressant. However, alcohol disrupts sleep by not allowing you to fully cycle through the sleep stages and you will typically wake up not feeling well-rested. Any amount of alcohol is not recommended as a “sleep aid,” no matter how good you think you sleep on it.
Ensuring that we have good sleep hygiene increases productivity, makes us feel better and lowers the risk of developing mental health disorders. When our bodies and minds are not rested and restored, our functioning is hindered. Develop a bedtime routine and stick to it. Being mindful of what we do throughout the day and when we get home can aid in getting a good night’s rest!
TiL next time, sleep well my friends. Peace
